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CANARY ISLANDS

Pic of the day: Canary Islands ‘swimming’ in sea

A satellite image of Spain's Canary Islands in which they are appear to be swimming through the silvery Atlantic Ocean is up for a Nasa photo prize.

Pic of the day: Canary Islands 'swimming' in sea
Photo: Jeff Schmaltz/Lance/Eosdis Modis Rapid Response Team/Nasa

The 'Trailing the Canaries' image is one of two remaining candidates in the Art Section of Nasa's Tournament Earth 2014 online photo poll.

Captured by the space agency's Terra satellite in June 2013, the photo shows all of Spain's seven Canary Islands.  

"The Atlantic Ocean has a silvery or milky color in much of the image, the result of sunglint," Nasa explains on the competition website.

"Windsock-like tails" can also been seen stretching southwest from the islands. The patterns are the result of "winds roughening or smoothing the water surface in different places", Nasa says.

The volcanic islands of the archipelago act as a "wind shadow", blocking, slowing, and redirecting currents of air.

Fans of the photo can still vote for it to take the Nasa prize until 9pm Friday March 21st.    

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STORMS

UPDATE: Death toll from storms in Switzerland rises to six

The death toll from flash floods that hit Switzerland after storms at the weekend rose to six Wednesday after a body was discovered in the southeastern canton of Ticino, police said.

UPDATE: Death toll from storms in Switzerland rises to six

The alpine region is experiencing its worst flooding since 2000 when 13 people were killed in a mudslide which destroyed the village of Gondo.

Police said the body was found in the Maggia river — the same area where another victim was discovered on Tuesday.

Emergency services had to use a helicopter to recover the remains.

The latest death brings the toll in the Ticino canton to five, making it the region hardest hit by the storms.

On Sunday, three German women in their 70s died after a torrential downpour triggered a landslide in the Italian-speaking canton.

In the neighbouring canton of Valais, where hundreds of people were evacuated as a result of overflowing rivers, a German man was found dead in a hotel basement in Saas-Grund.

Police said that he was probably taken by surprise by the rapid rise of the floodwater.

Scientists say climate change driven by human activity is increasing the severity, frequency and length of extreme weather events such as floods and storms.

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